With its brilliant palette, engaging design and dynamic brushwork, The Red House, Gloucester, Massachusetts is a quintessential example of Peterson’s work. It was likely painted around 1915-1916, soon after she began making regular summer trips to the area, and captures the marine railways at the far end of Rocky Neck Avenue. Deftly using the curve of the road to bring one’s eyes into the composition, Peterson energized the scene by rendering the buildings, grass and clear blue sky with her characteristic fully-loaded brush and bold color. Interestingly, the Delaware Art Museum has a very similar painting by Peterson in their collection entitled Dock Walk, featuring a figure on the path but with less of the Gloucester waterfront visible beyond the railways. 

More information about this painting...

Provenance:

Private collection, New York, New York, 2000 to present

Inscription:

(top stretcher in pencil) 4 The Red Barn

Labels:

1). Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, with painting description
2). Menconi & Schoelkopf Fine Art, New York, with painting description
3). Adelson Cavalier Galleries, Palm Beach, Florida, with painting description